


Tag, you're it

by booksandtea15



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Fluff, I know nothing about laser tag WHOOPS, Laser Tag, M/M, cute shit, dark corners
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-13 00:00:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15351708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/booksandtea15/pseuds/booksandtea15
Summary: Laser tag was fine. Laser tag was fine. It was in the dark, Jooheon couldn't aim, and it was fine.





	Tag, you're it

“Are you really gonna make me get off this couch on my day off?” Changkyun whined, stretched out, sweatshirt riding up, limbs flopping around haphazardly. 

“Watch out,” Hyungwon sighed, reaching out to grab the bowl of popcorn threatening to tip over the edge at Changkyun’s head. “If you get butter stains all over the couch again,  _ you’re _ cleaning it up this time.”

“I  _ offered _ to clean up last time but  _ no _ , you know best and--”

“Guys!” Jooheon burst out, a trace of a whine in his voice. “Come on, come with me. Minhyuk asked us as a  _ group _ , I can’t show up alone.” Jooheon was already dressed, hands smoothing down his jeans, hair combed viciously down. 

“Joohoney,” Changkyun pouted, eyes flicking towards the screen, where the new season of Queer Eye was paused. “I just want to cry as these gay men help stupid straight people realise they don’t have to be so stupid--”

“Okay, we’ll come. Just gimme a second to wrangle Changkyun into some clothes,” Hyungwon hummed, grabbing the remote from Changkyun and turning off the screen in the process. 

“ _ Hyungwon-- _ ”

“You know Kihyun will be there, and you’ve been trying to get him to actually laugh at you long enough that it’s  _ actually _ getting tiresome. Now, please, go put on some goddamn clothes.”

Changkyun shut his mouth and got up, but he still shot a baleful glare in Hyungwon’s direction. 

“Thanks, hyung,” Jooheon sighed, rubbing his hands on his jeans. They were already sweaty, uncomfortable. This was  _ fine _ . “I don’t think I would have survived if I had to go there alone.”

Hyungwon grinned indulgently, pulling on his own shoes at the door. “Will Kihyun  _ actually _ be there? I mean, Changkyun will still go, come hell or high water, it’ll just be a mite easier to keep him interested and  _ there _ if Kihyun is there too.”

Jooheon shrugged, shoulders feeling slightly stiff. “I mean, I think so? Minhyuk just said to bring a team.”

Hyungwon shrugged, looking over at the hallway as Changkyun stomped out, dressed in his good jeans and layered shirt despite his apparent reluctance, pushing past Hyungwon to wait outside the door, loudly complaining about them being late when Jooheon took a second or two to pull on his shoes. 

“I guess we’ll see when we get there.”

\---

Walking into the place, Jooheon couldn’t help his neck from craning, eyes straining, looking for Minhyuk. He had met the older boy in one of his classes, Psychology, and after a group project during which, inevitably, he and Minhyuk ended up doing all the work, they… kept in touch.

Minhyuk was affectionate, always petting Jooheon’s hair and having a hold of him in some way whenever they were near. At first, in class, Jooheon had felt flattered by this attention, some part of him preening and seeking it out, unable to control his dimples when Minhyuk called him Honey. 

The first time they had hung out with all their friends, however, Jooheon had seen that Minhyuk was affectionate with all his friends. He hugged all of them, smiled brightly at all of them, called everyone pet names, and the little hope he had been nurturing flagged and wilted like a flower in the scorching sun. 

(Some small part of him still insisted that the attention he got was special, that Minhyuk got extra soft in the eyes when he looked at Jooheon, that he was the most babied one.)

It was this small hope that still flagged up and warmed Jooheon’s chest whenever he set eyes on the older boy, that made him accept any and each invitation he could to hang out, any excuse to be near Minhyuk. 

It was that small hope that had him walking into a game of laser tag with the full knowledge that he had never had a sharpshooting bone in his body, and that both of his friends had the hand-eye coordination of a newborn baby.

Jooheon didn’t see Minhyuk when he walked in, but he smiled nonetheless at the friendly wave the owner, Hyunwoo, sent in his direction. Hyunwoo had been a few years above Jooheon in school and, instead of going to college, as the whole town was pushing him to, insisting that he had the build and the talent to get a sport scholarship, Hyunwoo had simply smiled his little smile, turned around, and opened a laser-tag arena. 

Which, considering how negative people had been about it, was doing fairly well. 

“Jooheon!” Hyunwoo called out, beckoning him closer. “Minhyuk and the rest are already out there. Just warming up a bit. He said I should just send you guys in when you arrived. You guys ready to go or?”

Changkyun, right behind Jooheon, whooped and grabbed the kit from Hyunwoo, already starting to pull it on. Hyungwon grinned at him, before shaking his head and taking his own kit. “Thanks, Hyunwoo. How much do we owe you…?”

Hyunwoo shook his head, waving Hyungwon away. “It’s fine. Minhyuk booked the arena for the afternoon. Depending on a few things, I might waive the kit hire too. We’ll talk later.”

Hyungwon frowned, looking perplexed, but seemed to accept the answer, walking away to pull on his kit.

Jooheon, however…

“Depending on what?”

Jooheon was having some seconds thoughts. He had bargained on getting to see Minhyuk before the game, had bargained on getting used to his face before having to face it in ‘battle’. Minhyuk had the kind of face, the kinds of beauty, that was dangerous to face head-on.

(Dangerous for Jooheon, at least. Once, in class, he had been doodling in his book, waiting for the professor to arrive, not paying attention to anything in particular, completely zoned out, when a hand had landed in his hair, stroking. Startled, Jooheon had looked up, only to be faced with Minhyuk, smiling down at him. Jooheon swore to this day it had taken him a good five minutes to breathe properly again.)

Hyunwoo however, was being extremely unhelpful. “Just… stuff. It’s a bet Minhyuk and I have, don’t worry about it. Come on, better suit up, your team’s waiting for you.” Hyunwoo tipped his head towards Changkyun and Hyungwon who, despite the former’s earlier reluctance, was indeed already suited up and ready.

Jooheon pursed his lips, taking the kit. “If the bet’s that they’re gonna win, that’s a definitive win for whoever bet on that,” he grumbled. Jooheon inspected his laser-gun. God, he was bad at this.

Hyunwoo smiled down at his counter. “We’ll see. Now, get out there.”

\---

Entering the laser tag arena was always a bit of a surreal experience, especially if it was a sunny day outside. 

Black walls, neon lines criss-crossing them, stairs leading up to an even brighter balcony. It was a strange juxtaposition of darkness and patches so bright you had to blink. Jooheon entered and heard Hyunwoo’s voice over the intercom.

“Okay, guys, the other team has arrived. Give a minute’s grace for everyone to find their places, and then the game will begin.”

Following the announcement giggles and shouts rang out, and Jooheon was almost sure he heard Minhyuk’s voice calling his name, although the most he saw of the other team were flashes of orange light on the other side of the arena. 

Now, Jooheon was  _ not _ good at laser tag. He wasn’t. For some reason he could never get his hands to steady, couldn’t point the gun in the right direction, always pulled the trigger too late or too early. What he  _ was _ good at, however, was hiding. He had been one of the people helping Hyunwoo set the place up. He knew where all the little hidey corners were, knew where he was likely to survive the longest, even if he didn’t fire a shot. 

Jooheon made a straight shot for the stairs, keeping a wary eye out for tell-tale orange flashes rushing in his direction. They may not be allowed to shoot, but Jooheon wouldn’t put it past the others to hide near him and take him out early. 

Jooheon crouched in a secluded corner, hidden by a particular curve that meant his attacker would have to be almost on him before they noticed him. And, if he was lucky, he might be able to pick someone off peeking over the balcony onto the floor below.

Jooheon waited, breath loud in his ears, nodding at Hyungwon as the older boy jogged past him, eyes catching on Jooheon at the last second. Jooheon waited until the timer started ringing out the seconds, tightened his grip on his gun, and--

_ PHWEET _

The timer went off, and almost immediately a few shots were shot, although, as far as Jooheon could tell, they didn’t hit anyone. Jooheon waited while people snuck and ran around him, waited as Changkyun, in a completely suicidal move, ran right at Kihyun, grinning when Kihyun’s shot got him right in the chest while Kihyun shook his head and smiled. He waited while Hyungwon took out Hoseok, laughing when Hoseok looked at him all betrayed, and he waited while Hyungwon scored a shot on Kihyun a second before Minhyuk’s shot caught him in the back.

And then, Jooheon couldn’t wait anymore. He peeked over the edge, careful, careful,  _ careful _ , daring a shot at a flash of orange below him, missing, of course. 

“Got you,” Minhyuk called, making his way up the stairs, and Jooheon swallowed, pulse loud in his ears as he realised he would have to move now. 

He wanted to move slowly, carefully, wanted to take his time and examine all the options, but he knew his shot had given away his location, knew that Minhyuk was moving fast, and so he had to move fast too and, so, as quick as he dared he moved out of his corner, bent nearly double, and got approximately four steps before a hand shot out and grabbed his shirt, dragging him into a dark corner.

Jooheon gasped and closed his eyes, bracing himself for the pinging sound of his defeat. 

Except…

“Minhyuk?” Jooheon whispered, wondering if some other bogeyman had made its way into the arena, and his heart beat even louder at the thought, hands shaking and sweat-slicked.

“Yeah, it’s me,” the familiar voice whispered, and Jooheon’s overactive imagination got put to rest, even as a whole nother part of him woke up, Minhyuk’s weight now leaning against him.

“Aren’t-- Aren’t you going to shoot me?” Jooheon asked, gasping when he felt Minhyuk exhale across his cheek. He hadn’t realised the other boy was that close. 

“Mmmm,” Minhyuk hummed, and reached out a hand to grab Jooheon’s, the one holding the gun, pressing it against his own stomach. “Yeah, about that. You see, I have this, kinda,  _ bet _ with Hyunwoo. He said I wouldn’t have to pay  _ and _ he’d buy us pizza if I won. And I  _ really _ want to win.”

“O-Oh.” 

Minhyuk’s face was close enough now that Jooheon could make out his lips. Close enough that, if Jooheon tipped forward ever so slightly, they would be kissing. On instinct, Jooheon’s tongue came out to wet his lips, and he heard Minhyuk suck in a slow breath. 

“Can I kiss you?” Minhyuk asked, leaning even closer, lips  _ just  _ brushing Jooheon’s. 

“Okay.”

Minhyuk giggled and pressed closer. Pressed properly, smiling against Jooheon’s mouth, biting lightly at Jooheon’s lower lip, as his hand slid down and squeezed Jooheon’s finger around the trigger, soothing himself in the stomach and causing the ending bell to ring. He pulled away, placing a last, lingering kiss on Jooheon’s lips. “I win.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! This is a sorta birthday gift for myself, since I've been wanting to write something silly and fluffy for a while now. But also, I hope you guys enjoyed it. 
> 
> (Disclaimer: I know nothing about laser tag. Absolutely nothing. All the info I got from hastily googled images.)


End file.
